Lupe Fiasco Clarifies His Political Views On The Colbert Report

Before performing "Words I Never Said," Lupe encouraged every taxpaying citizen to question those in power, and gave his thoughts on Osama Bin Laden's killing.

Freddie Gibbs isn’t the only Midwest emcee not buying the hype about Osama Bin Laden’s killing. Count Lupe Fiasco in among the dozens of Hip Hop artists who have also sounded off on the killing of the former Al Qaeda leader.

“We got one guy,” Lupe explained during an appearance on “The Colbert Report.” As for his thoughts on what many pundits have dubbed the “War on Terror,” Lupe said, “I don’t see an end to it. It’s not like it’s a war of attrition.”

The Grammy Award winning emcee raised eyebrows for criticizing both the current Obama administration as well as past administrations with his lyrics about Israel and Palestine in “Words I Never Said.” In line with the satirical nature of his show, Stephen Colbert joked that Lupe was a member of the Tea Party. But Lupe said his views and comments were less about being anti-Obama and more about exercising his right as a taxpaying citizen to criticize those in power.

“I bring that mentality to all parts of my life,” Lupe said. “I practice what I preach, and I preach what I practice. My music is no less an extension of my life, with the things was taught and the way I was raised.”

cnf

sun_god7

Much respect to Lupe. He keeps it RE.A.L. (RElevant Activism thats Live). (Poke fun at that - I was trying).
He is doing his best as an individual to keep it real w/o an effective left-wing movement.
Much respect when the backdrop is the organization of wealth being more concentrated than the organization of the people.

O2O

Just a question and I'm not being sarcastic. The people that hate the US government and accuse them of causing everything. Why don't you just leave the country? You have the right to. White, black, brown, or whatever you have that right and you can go and leave almost anywhere in the world you want. Hell you could even move to some remote island and no one would ever bother you. But that's to hard, you rather sit in the US on your ass and complain about the government all day. Apparently you don't really hate the government as much as you say you do. If you did you would just leave. I'm just saying....

Triune

Anonymous

If everybody had your mentality during the revolutionary war times we would still be paying taxes to England. If everybody had your mentality during civil war times slavery would still be going on....You see what Im saying here?

AMERICAN

Because this is my country. I don't hate it but I will speak out about whats wrong about it. There are definitely things I do hate about it as well as things I love about it. But I was born and raised here and I have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax money here and had family members fight it our wars. You can't just move anywhere you want to which speaks volumes about your comment. First thing is you would have to get a visa to work and live in that country and finding a job in a foreign land that you have no connection to would be very difficult. Secondly, language barriers, you would have to learn a new language because although you might think that every buddy speaks english around the world that certainly doesn't mean that they do business with each other in that language. Also, moving away from your friends and family is not that easy for everyone.
Every citizen does have the right to question what is going on and stand up for their beliefs and protest. In fact it is in the constitution so it is a very american concept. Just agreeing and being obedient does not make you anymore a patriot then standing up for something you don't believe in.

Mr. P

Well, you know all of those freedoms you love as an American? Some of those were brought about by people QUESTIONING AUTHORITY and CRITICIZING those in power. I guess people who complained during civil rights should have left too, huh? Maybe the jews should have all left German- oh wait.
But that's alright, just be a good little automaton. The next time the government has you bent over, you will look up and say "Save me" and I will answer "No".
That was a Watchmen reference. I'm bored. This is the internet. Deal with it.
Also, broccoli.

joe5286

Vikram Bhosale

i'm afraid his song and your statement are both incorrect if you are inferring that the United States was responsible for what happened that day. Sorry man, not that I don't understand the reason why one might question the war in Iraq but I'm afraid that is not the reason .

thomas paxton

Brian Tate

Nah. You two clearly need to do the research. Larry Silverstein, to every form of media, admitted that he had building 7 pulled. It seems you two are intelligent individuals yet you refuse to question the obvious. Look up the dimensions of a 747 Boeing and check the damage dimensions of The Pentegon. Many inconsistencies! Also, Bin Laden was dropped off in the middle of the sea...you do realize that in the Muslim world that's considered a "hero's burial" don't you? So the question you need to ask is "what is he a hero of?" Especially to the the American people! Have you questioned what the translation of Al Qaeda is? See, it's what we DON'T question that allows us to be fucked over day after day. And the less questions we ask the more we lose our basic freedoms. So please don't shun someone for asking questions. If anything you should be asking more questions to those in power!!

Hmm

Suzanne

American rapper, artist and producer Lupe Fiasco, first broke into the entertainment with the success of his debut album in 2006. The album that helped his rise to fame was titled, Food & Liquor. http://bit.ly/lCwYgk

Sami Ali

Look Yeah, let me give it to you straight as a muslim and a person.... First of all Osama is the bad guy, why? becuase of his ideology in islam which doesn't make him popular within normal groups of islamic people and cause he is recruting muslims who are angry at the west or dont have an education hes the face of terrorism, cause the tactics they use. america supported the wrong freedom fighters in afghanistan which was the Pakistani ISI supported Taliban now they are paying for it alon with the nato countries... follow lupes example and express your concerns and criticise the Gov if you truly love your country even if the media portrays you crazy. he touches on subjects where we need peace, freedom and justice like for instance the holy land?

cnf

cnf

CLove

@Hmmm: Please don't claim to be a Christian, then immediately make extremely un-Christian like comments. It will can certainly turn people's hearts away from Our Saviour.
Ephesians 4:29 tells us, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."
Just a tid bit that may help you in the future. Be blessed.

Hmm

As a Muslim? I was expecting a less biased opinion since you opened up with that. As a Christian, here's why Osama is the 'bad' guy.
He organized an attack that was intended to and killed 3,000 civilians, including Muslims.
That alone qualifies him as the bad guy. All the rest is bullshit.
I hope Big Sister tracks your ass down and throws you in Guantanamo Bay, you fucking herb.

Hmm

Patrick@TheRapSpot

Hey I've started a new hip hop website/blog. I post things worth checking out and stuff to stay away from. It's my opinion on hip hop and you can give a fuck.
www.TheRapSpot.com
Check it out. Looking for some commenters/followers. Help me out

papabearATL

If a random stranger in a nice suit stopped you on your way to work and said,"Sir, I need you to give me a third of your wages". You would probably lol, hit him in the jaw, in the very least ask 'why'. Yet every pay day a random stranger is taking your money 'in your best interest' of course and you are being too political or anti-establishment if you question? Think about that. Your tax dollars run this machine, don't you even want to know what the machine does or where it's going? How is it helping you, just food for thought and if you don't care then... Can I have a third of your paycheck?

Hmm

Anonymous:
@lololololol - There was no war in America before Christopher Columbus arrived. And there was no government either
=========
Rival Native American tribes fought all the time.
Animals fight.
Bugs fight.
Plants even compete with one another.
Conflict and competition are a part of life. Go hug a tree, hippie.

Anonymous

Anonymous

lolololololol, stop being a dumbass. papabear didn't make an argument for having no government. he made a very good argument for questioning what government does. e.g. are you happy your tax dollars are used to kill hundreds of thousands of civilians in Iraq, a country which had NOTHING to do with 9/11??

lolololololol

thats so ignorant, imagine what happen if there was no government, anarchy?? survival of the fittest, competitive environment where the only things you'd have to worry about is your life, wich is constanly on the line.
Dont forget, government and strict restrictions make people follow our values and norms wich ultimately form our laws. an anarchy is something you dream of while your high and sounds good. What if somebody would hit your car and there would be no insurance company becuz there is no government. You'd have to steal his car? and kill him for that? think about that while feeling like a rebel

The P

doc

Lupe is a little too far to the left for me, but he speaks truth to power. Good for him. More people need to follow his lead and give a shit if things are going to work out. As much as I like President Obama, if nobody gives a fuck, then nothing's going to change because there is no pressure on Congress, where the real power lies, to do anything.

len

Versatile StreetTeam

I will keep this simple Osama being killed or not is irrelevant has he did not orchastrate the twin towers and the world trade center to blow up...Osama was a freedom fighter, if you over-stand how the U.S. corporation not country works then you will know they will do anything to mislead people the same way people are doubting Obama actually killing Osama...From my real search like I said he was a freedom fighter and the Al Qaeda simply means 'the base' it is an Arabic word also I will go deeper and say the base in term database of Jihad's and in case you do not know even Lupe mentions about the Jihad's in Laser album. Anyway the Jihad's along with Osama Bin Laden fought with the Soviet Union that was occupant in Afghanistan and they brought down this great super power and the U.S are another super-power and they saw Osama has a threat because he wanted Saudi Arabian oil for Saudi people and he wanted the U.S. military base out of there. He even was interviewed in 1998 and he talked about the U.S. invading other countries and exploiting the people of the land and the resources and spreading their religion and they bomb and kill civillians...the joke is it still goes on today tell me why they are in Libya and they bombed Gaddafi's son and killed him and destroyed his home and they keep sending air missiles killing civilians...Obama may be president but he is a puppet he is limited to what he can and cannot do it will be the same with any other

Sami Ali

papabearATL

I understand the concept of one man's terrorist is anothers freedom fighter, the United Kingdom thought we were terrorist during the revolutionary war but we never attacked them on their soil, we defended our home. Osama was an intelligent, rich kid with an agenda. It's easy for the educated to control and persuade the uneducated. He was detrimental to the Mid-East and was banished from every country but Pakistan. He has killed as many Muslims as he has Americans. The weapons he used to kick Russia out of Afghanistan were funded by the US because of our anti-communist agenda, when he was banished from Saudi Arabia, he lost his funding from his daddies billion dollar business. That's like having a BYOB party and then kicking the your guests out and calling them invaders but, keeping the liquor, come on son. I don't agree with us being over there, but it was by invitation. We may have overstayed our welcome but we did not invade. The day we cease to question the motives and decisions of our government is the day we lose all control, I don't care what nationality the POTUS is. Their agenda is usually to stay in office, not be a gov of the people for the people and by the people...

len

Anonymous

You do recognize that Osama bin Laden was a leader of the Al Queda organization that was responsible for the deaths of many of the people you claim he was fighting for.
And that was BEFORE 9/11!!
Maybe you don't recognize that.

Backpacker 88

chrisg

What the fuck is wrong with you people??? I'm so sick of ignorant fucks who don't pay attention to anything!! Everything revolves around politics and government, even hiphop. If you don't care what happens in your country then you should just move the fuck away. Just because someone says something doesn't make it true!! People who don't question those in power are stupid, mindless, ignorant fools. If Obama told you to jump off a bridge would you do it? Maybe, because your a fucking retard. And just because Obama hasn't fixed everything doesn't make him a bad president, but he's not a good one either. One man can't do everything! It's a peoples government, and people should give a fuck about what's going on,plain and simple!! Who cares you say? Everyone should care and if you don't then you shouldn't be here. Dumb ass niggas!!! Read a fucking book and gain some knowledge, if you know how to read that is.

OBAMAS#1

LupetheTruth

TAXES ARE ANTI AMERICAN THIS WAS PASSED BY JEWS ON CHRISTMAS DAY WHEN MOST SENATORS WERE OFF EXCEPT THE JEWS THERE IS NO WHERE IN THE AMERICAN BOOKS OF LAW THAT IT SAYS CITIZENS MUST PAY TAXES JUST ANOTHER THING GREEDY JEWS TOOK FROM ROMANS AND ARE USING IT TO DESTROY THE USA,THE DOLLAR WILL COLLAPSE SOON THANKS TO THE FED.RESERVE AND ITS JEWISH OWNERS

Haha.. ha

wow, do you think before you comment? taxes are unamerican? is that what your deluded mind thinks? so you want to live in country where there are no roads, no police, no public schools, no health care for the poor, no firefighters, no military, no environmental protection? fuck, use that brain of yours before you type shit ya dumbass.

len

actually dummy, the colonists were paying taxes to the British Crown long before Jews emigrated to the what is now the USA.
There is nothing wrong with paying taxes as long as it's a fair amount. If you use services(police, public schools, fire dept, post office, etc) you should be paying taxes. who the fu@k you think you are that you don't need to pay taxes?
Taxes should NEVER exceed 30% of income though which is what I have I problem with.

TaZzZ

The Jews are also responsible for gettin' a bunch of talented cats off the streets and into a studio. If it weren't for some of them we might not have the music we all love and you wouldn't have a place to spread your ignorant, racist hatred... Do you drive? Go to school (doubt it)? If there were no taxes, who the fuck would pay for all that shit. You need some system to provide basic necessities for everyone. How they go about spending it is a whole 'nother story...

eit

lupe is a mosque-boy-brainwashed-muslim that has courage, he pushes his opinions forward but sadly he is an idiot, and i'm not relating to his osama opinions. I wish he would go back to the shit he was doin a few years ago instead of this i'm-a mainstream-activist bullshit.

len

John 'Stewart' Leibowitz's brother is head of the NYSE and before that he was head of UBS. Bankers are destroying this country by design. Stewart is a NWO shill, bottom line and Stephen Colbert is simply another useful idiot.

doc

Stewart and Colbert are anti-pundits. Stewart mocks them and those in power mercilessly and Colbert plays his character to perfectly satirize the ridiculousness of the mainstream media.
And all this conspiracy shit needs to stop now. It's getting out of hand.

Anonymous

Anyone who say Lupe is stupid should question his own intelligence. You don't have to agree with him but you can't deny he has an opinnion and cleary states and defends it. This is how democracy works and it is good that different opinnions exist as long as they ain't racist/nazi etc.

Hmm

Im not a fan of Lupe but anybody that doesnt think he has a point is retarded and should never be allowed to vote. Look at all the schools closing, bridges collapsing, terrible roads, unemployment high as hell, closed businesses everywhere, states close to bankrupt but yall dumb muh fuckas are happy we spent 3 trillion dollars to kill one man?

Kendall Walters

Anonymous

len

That's the problem. Real Hip Hop died about 10 years ago--so the shit you're listening to has nothing to do with politics--other than the politics of keeping your ass ignorant and working dead end jobs or in jail.

chrisg

billy bucks

Since when has it NOT been about politics? Hip hop was born from oppression by those in power (politicians).
This statement is so close minded it's unbelievable. If politics isn't hip-hop what is? Guns and drugs? Hip-Hop is whatever the hell the artist wants to rhyme about. The subject matter isn't what makes hip-hip, hip-hop, it's how you decide to deliver the message.
FUCKIN ROOKIE

Atothe

komee

Im so tired of people complaining about everything , everybody find something wrong with every president black or white if they did something great we will find something negative if they did something wrong (like all presidents have done) we will find something worst . I LIKE LUPE but he needs to stop downing

papabearATL

Great presidents are revealed in time, rarely while in office. Hell, if things pan out in the Mid-East, G.W. Bush could go down as the greatest American President ever. If you stop questioning the Government OF the people, it'll become the Government OVER the people. Think about how the Homeland Security Act made it legal to invade America's Privacy. We as Americans allowed it out of fear, then woke up and revised and repealed a lot of it.

Daniel Heap

Lupe said. Ã¢â¬ÅI practice what I preach, and I preach what I practice. My music is no less an extension of my life, with the things was taught and the way I was raised.ÃÂ
When will people realise Lupe is nowhere near as profound and intellectual as his groupies make out. He's a conscious rapper sure, but some of his stuff just tries too hard and falls flat, just designed to sound smart. His first sentence doesn't have validity. And Lupe? everything you do on this Earth is done based on the things you have been taught and due to the way you were raised. That's what consciousness is. thanks for trying to big your music up by associating the two.ÃÂ
"Just because no-one can understand how you speak, don't necessarily mean that what you be saying is deep!" - Talib Kweli.

Anonymous

That's a cute pull of a quote, but your argument makes no sense. Evidence of how he's not intelligent, please.
It may not be your view, but he IS intelligent. No he's not a super genius who will cure the world of all its ills, but he IS intelligent. His view is just different from your's.

Pauly Dee

da1

Tony

You call that an article? P.s What a disgrace of a review for Dj Quik new album, he opens his heart to you in an in depth interview and his album is actually quite good and you shit on him? Dont turn into another gay site, keep it real ma nigs - or I bet you are mainly white actually.

Anonymous

So because they didn't like DJ Quik's album, that makes them all white?
And even if they were, so the fuck what? Since when has hip-hop been segregated? Especially when a white man has sold the most records, explain to me that.
Think before you post something, for fuck's sake.

mgf

Hmmm. I somewhat agree with a few things he is saying. In reality the goverment causes more problems than it solves. All the while taking away our liberty. The "War on Terror" is no different from the "War on Drugs". Its just a label to make it sound like something we should support and claim we are unamerican if we don't support it. Endless pursue by government to control of our lives through fear and social programs.

D-Train

Well said !!! It also give us an excuse to keep pumpin money into our defense... Fear controls the massed and keep them in check....They want more sheep than free thinking individuals... We have to always watch out for terror but not how they say... We have a housing crisis, no jobs and poor health care, that's what I want to focus on !!!! Not to mention in Vegas they have cut 300 teachers and social programs.....

trooth

i agree with u except i think the war on terror is a real concern. the war on drugs ...thats just a bunch of bullshit but i mean they did fly airplanes into the twin towers and kill thousands of people. and they want to kill more people so we def need to handle this situation. and if believe George Bush was responsible... you've drank the conspiracy cool aid.

komee

Dazzmond Hill

I'm sure more of you would like him if he raped about his cars, clothes, women(bitches, for some of you), drugs he partakes in, and his mom(other women issues). Sorry he isn't just like every other rapper and it makes your tiny little head spin.

Tax Payer

r

Respect to Lupe. Of course everyone should exercise their right to question, not all do tho. I think a lot of ppl put to much trust in those in positions of power. Just cos they hold that position, it doesn't mean they're always right or do whats right or is a good person.